Hey, Gauntleteers, I hope this post finds you well. I’m new around here, and I’m definitely not in the habit of using G+, so please pardon me as I ease into the community. I’m excited to get to know you all better!
There’s something I’ve been thinking about lately that I’d love to hear your thoughts on. If it’s come up before and it’s easiest to point me to an old thread, that totally works!
I play regularly with a couple of groups who are very comfortable with story games and collaborative storytelling. (A friend and I will often call it a “table full of GMs” since we regularly rotate between different systems, with different people running them in a cycle.) Recently, though, we’ve brought on a good friend of ours who’s relatively new to RPGs and isn’t accustomed to “generating story” for lack of a better way of putting it. They and I have chatted offline, and some of it sounds like those new-to-roleplaying jitters I’m sure many of us have been through. The other thing I’ve gleaned, though, is that they have a seem to have bent toward a certain brand of traditional-style roleplaying, where there’s lots of rolling of the dice, a focus on action, and more often reacting to things the GM puts in front of you than coming up with new stuff yourself.
Through our conversations, we figure there are a few things we can do when running a game to help make their experience more comfortable and pleasant (and, I think, all of these are certainly doable in the system we’re running):
1) Setting or framing scenes for them — rather than asking what they’re doing in a completely open-ended way — to put a clear obstacle, conflict, etc. in their way, and then letting them react.
2) Focusing on external, tangible conflicts rather than internal, personal, or intangible ones.
3) When it does come time for character development or the like, suggesting something fairly specific and letting them “fill in the blanks” or, should they feel so inclined, letting them suggest an alternative.
Put another way, perhaps: We’re a bunch of story gamers who have played or run traditional stuff before, but we’re no longer used to it, and now we have a player who, at least for the time being, would probably be more at home in traditional games. Aside from the “obvious” answer of sticking to trad games for now (which is totally valid and something I may recommend to our friend if it seems that’s best), I’m curious to hear what thoughts you might have on adapting story games to a traditional playstyle and easing new players into story-driven systems. Thanks!
My groups have had similar dynamics in the past. I’ve found that the things you are trying seem to have worked for my groups. I’ve also found that turning almost every decision into a player-facing question helps start people thinking about collaborative story, and not just gamesmanship. When a die roll goes badly, let them explain how and why in the game’s fiction. Encourage them to make it interesting, not just comical or nondescript failure. Early on, be a bit more generous with experience points, bennies, or the like to make it worth their while in the mechanical side of the game. I’ve had a lot of success with that in the past.
My groups have had similar dynamics in the past. I’ve found that the things you are trying seem to have worked for my groups. I’ve also found that turning almost every decision into a player-facing question helps start people thinking about collaborative story, and not just gamesmanship. When a die roll goes badly, let them explain how and why in the game’s fiction. Encourage them to make it interesting, not just comical or nondescript failure. Early on, be a bit more generous with experience points, bennies, or the like to make it worth their while in the mechanical side of the game. I’ve had a lot of success with that in the past.
I’ve been working with my group on this. They’re very comfortable with trad gaming but tend to be reactive and are not comfortable with narration.
What I am trying is to build tools that split the difference. For instance, giving them a short list of the types of consequences an action might have. Another is to give them guidance on how to build a narrative in tiny chunks. “What is he holding in his hand that bothers you?” “Describe her voice.”
Communicating the idea of interesting failures is still a sticking point. It’s very foreign to them and I only have one way of breaking it down for them so far. I ask “What went wrong that wasn’t your fault?” and that seems to get a little out of them.
It’s all very experimental. I’ve seen some progress, but maybe that’s just practice. When I give them some adaptive tech, they seem more likely to try instead of freezing up.
I’ve been working with my group on this. They’re very comfortable with trad gaming but tend to be reactive and are not comfortable with narration.
What I am trying is to build tools that split the difference. For instance, giving them a short list of the types of consequences an action might have. Another is to give them guidance on how to build a narrative in tiny chunks. “What is he holding in his hand that bothers you?” “Describe her voice.”
Communicating the idea of interesting failures is still a sticking point. It’s very foreign to them and I only have one way of breaking it down for them so far. I ask “What went wrong that wasn’t your fault?” and that seems to get a little out of them.
It’s all very experimental. I’ve seen some progress, but maybe that’s just practice. When I give them some adaptive tech, they seem more likely to try instead of freezing up.
Welcome, and great provocative question to spur conversation.
New player stage fright often comes from the desire to do the “perfect” thing for the moment. We get so caught up in wanting to get everything right that it is nerve-wracking to do anything at all. But the effort of making every scene perfect is largely wasted. Most of my fond memories of games long-past are of spontaneous moments that made us all laugh together, and i’ve forgotten almost all of the individual dice rolls, witty one-liners that fell flat, etc.
Basically – recommend the new player to be bold! Play the character like you would drive a bumper car – aim it somewhere interesting and hit the gas.
In direct response to your questions:
1) framing scenes is important. Put their character in the scene and provide them something to react to and some momentum or a starting point.
“We fade into the interior of the abandoned house. You’ve clearly been picking your way through the dusty rooms for awhile now, by the bored expression on your face. The audience sees the shadow fall ominously behind you as you pick up and read the old trophy on the mantle. But the heavy footfall snaps your attention behind you. Something is there, and you know it! What do you do?”
2) focusing on personal, internal, or intangible topics can be tough, especially when we’re invested in our characters as our own little avatars within the story. My best advice to address this: everyone should be a fan of all the players’ characters. When something exciting and good happens to a character, all the players should react. When something bad happens, the same.
When the new player is asked about something intense or personal, show empathy: “I’d like to know how Toni deals with anxiety. The threat has been handled, you’re safe for now, but the adrenaline is still in your blood… What do you do to calm down?” Ask those questions in a narratively safe situation first; if the group reacts in a supportive manner, it may help the player get used to showing vulberability and exposing their character to interesting and difficult scenarios. Just be respectful that players have limits of what they want to explore in game!
Also on this – it’s easier for players to accept difficulty consequences when they, as a player, are “in on it” with the MC/GM. Ask for their buy-in as a player when something is happening. Make it clear that they get to be active in this, and the MC or the group aren’t arbitrarily doing this to them. If they refuse to participate with the group this way, that might be time for a discussion of player agendas and expectations.
3) spot on! Prompting for short answers helps them frame their response, and letting them know they are free to suggest alternatives empowers them to make character choices they are comfortable with.
Welcome, and great provocative question to spur conversation.
New player stage fright often comes from the desire to do the “perfect” thing for the moment. We get so caught up in wanting to get everything right that it is nerve-wracking to do anything at all. But the effort of making every scene perfect is largely wasted. Most of my fond memories of games long-past are of spontaneous moments that made us all laugh together, and i’ve forgotten almost all of the individual dice rolls, witty one-liners that fell flat, etc.
Basically – recommend the new player to be bold! Play the character like you would drive a bumper car – aim it somewhere interesting and hit the gas.
In direct response to your questions:
1) framing scenes is important. Put their character in the scene and provide them something to react to and some momentum or a starting point.
“We fade into the interior of the abandoned house. You’ve clearly been picking your way through the dusty rooms for awhile now, by the bored expression on your face. The audience sees the shadow fall ominously behind you as you pick up and read the old trophy on the mantle. But the heavy footfall snaps your attention behind you. Something is there, and you know it! What do you do?”
2) focusing on personal, internal, or intangible topics can be tough, especially when we’re invested in our characters as our own little avatars within the story. My best advice to address this: everyone should be a fan of all the players’ characters. When something exciting and good happens to a character, all the players should react. When something bad happens, the same.
When the new player is asked about something intense or personal, show empathy: “I’d like to know how Toni deals with anxiety. The threat has been handled, you’re safe for now, but the adrenaline is still in your blood… What do you do to calm down?” Ask those questions in a narratively safe situation first; if the group reacts in a supportive manner, it may help the player get used to showing vulberability and exposing their character to interesting and difficult scenarios. Just be respectful that players have limits of what they want to explore in game!
Also on this – it’s easier for players to accept difficulty consequences when they, as a player, are “in on it” with the MC/GM. Ask for their buy-in as a player when something is happening. Make it clear that they get to be active in this, and the MC or the group aren’t arbitrarily doing this to them. If they refuse to participate with the group this way, that might be time for a discussion of player agendas and expectations.
3) spot on! Prompting for short answers helps them frame their response, and letting them know they are free to suggest alternatives empowers them to make character choices they are comfortable with.
Thank you all for your replies! Definitely some good food for thought.
Thank you all for your replies! Definitely some good food for thought.